Handcuffs In Schools

August 29, 1989

The start of a new school year is just days away. Parents are worrying about bus schedules; students are wondering about who their new teachers and classmates will be. Teachers have been fixing up classrooms and organizing materials.

There's a lot to think about and, unfortunately, not all of it involves education. Violence in schools and at school-related activities is a matter of growing concern. Students, parents, educators and community leaders will have to work together to put a stop to it.

The prime responsibility rests with parents. Failure at home makes success at school difficult if not impossible. When children come to school carrying weapons or under the influence of drugs, the parents have failed.

Tragically, parental failure is now so common that many school systems have to maintain a police presence to keep order. This year, for the first time, Newport News will have three uniformed police officers working in its high schools, ready to arrest disruptive students.

It's a sad but necessary step. School systems everywhere are a reflection of society, and our society is increasingly violent.

According to the National School Safety Center in Los Angeles, about 3 million crimes are committed on school property each year. Not all of those crimes are committed by students, of course. But too many of the students found roaming school halls should more realistically be under the supervision of the criminal justice system, not teachers of English and history. The schools are ill-equipped to control these young criminals, let alone teach them.

What everyone - students, parents, educators and community leaders - must remember is that disruptive, violent behavior doesn't have to be tolerated. Students who go to school five days a week to learn something shouldn't have to worry about being assaulted in the hall or band room. Parents shouldn't have to worry about whether their children might get mugged for their lunch money.

Public schools are under a lot of pressure. If they are going to survive, they'll have to be safe.